So during the course of the day I was surprised to notice a woman sitting and knitting so I tweeted about it.]]> I was at New Adventures in Web Design yesterday, and I have to say it was AMAZING. I took away so much from the day and I am incredibly thankful to Simon & everyone else involved for putting it together. 

So during the course of the day I was surprised to notice a woman sitting and knitting so I tweeted:

“Who the fuck sits and knits at a web conference?! #naconf”

I got a few responses but thought no more about it until Jeremy Keith pointed out to me that the knitter had mentioned me in a blog post. I posted a reply to her on her blog but it appears to be held in a moderation queue (And I’m not sure it’ll ever be published) so I thought I’d post it here for everyone to see now: 

“Gosh, you sure are bitter. And before you blog again — I don’t have a problem with bitterness; I quite enjoy it.

I think as a non mobile-web user you underestimate the value of using something like twitter during a conference. It’s fantastic to be able to check the #naconf tag and immediately see what your peers are taking away from it is incredibly useful. You might notice an undertone, or someone might post a question that makes you think a little bit more. This adds another layer to the conference — it’s not a distraction it’s a benefit. I don’t see how knitting is any more or less distracting than glancing at a phone. 

Also to call your “web geek sexism” examples sexist is slightly questionable imo.  There is nothing wrong with conveying a level of attraction to someone — with in reason of course. I’m afraid to me it comes across a little more as bitter petty jealousy.

I also wonder how you are gauging what I took away from the conference? During the conference I tweeted 28 times, the conference was 9 hours long thats just over 3 per hour — most of those were during the breaks. I was absolutely captivated by everyone that spoke and It’s so nice to feel that our community as a whole is united and heading in the same direction. It’s definitely the best conference I have been to in a very long time; Simon did an absolutely amazing job.“

I am constantly amazed by how offended people can get by nothing in particular, not that there is anything wrong with being offended but deal with it in the right way. What is the point in putting such a downer on such an amazing day?